NAB approves two more references in Modaraba scandal

ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has approved two more references in the multi-billion-rupee Modaraba and Musharka scandal against 13 accused persons, including prayer leaders and khateebs, who stand accused of cheating public at large through schemes purportedly run under Islamic mode of investment.The first reference has been approved for filing in accountability court against Ghluam Rasool Ayubi, Muhammad Imran, Hussain Ahmed and Muhammad Khalid. NAB has received more than 2,800 complaints from general public amounting to claims of Rs 2.95 billion against Ghulam Rasool Ayubi, chief executive of Mezban Trading Company Private Limited and others. They stated that the accused persons in connivance with each other had collected massive funds in the name of Modaraba (Islamic mode of business) from them under the garb of business in the name of Mezban Stores. The unsuspecting victims were promised attractive monthly profits at the rate of 30% to 50% of the total profit earned on the investment, however, the accused paid them profit for a few months only. The accused are neither paying back the capital investment nor monthly profit. The investigation into the case revealed that the accused got registered a company by the name of M/s Mezban Trading Company Private Ltd to illegally use it as a Modaraba company. They also got registered a firm, namely Mezban Store, under which Mezban stores were established at different places. The Mezban stores business was used by the Mezban Company Private Limited as a front to cheat the general public in the name of investment. The accused paid profit to the investors for some time but defaulted later on. The so-called profit was in fact not actual profit earned from the business of Mezban stores but was paid out of the investment made by the general public. The accused are said to have deprived the general public of about Rs 2.95 billion, a sum which may increase as new complaints are still being filed.The second reference has been approved by the NAB DG against nine accused persons – Shabbir Ahmed, Sajjad Ahmed, Tariq Mehmood, Raja Babar Zaib Malik Faisal Sultan, Qamar Shehzad, Saifur Rehman, Muhammad Adil and Muhammad Fayaz. In this case, complaints were received from general public alleging that the accused Shabbir Ahmed, chief executive Al-Wasay Group and other co-accused ran an illegal business of Modaraba and deprived the general public of a sum of up to Rs 49,065,000.The accused persons lured the general public by saying that they were in the mining business in collaboration with a company named Mega Links Pvt. Ltd, and offered attractive profits for their investments on a monthly basis. They received heavy investments in the name of Modaraba, paid abnormal profits initially and later on not only stopped paying the profit but also disappeared.